


Child's Play

by GhostxofxArtemis



Series: Alexandra Shepard [3]
Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:34:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27946115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GhostxofxArtemis/pseuds/GhostxofxArtemis
Summary: Alexandra Shepard, for this child, her life can get pretty exciting as she spends most of it in on the Normandy as her parents serve as both Alliance Officers and Council Spectres, traveling across the galaxy to protect others.Just some collections of one shot short fluffs that I write on Tumblr that are somewhat part of Alex's story but not quite as they primarily involve around John and Ashley, but Alex is still present, mostly as newborn/infant.  That's why you'll still find them in Alexandra's Series. They have no particular order.
Relationships: Male Shepard/Ashley Williams
Series: Alexandra Shepard [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2013490
Kudos: 2





	1. Med-bay

**Author's Note:**

> Alexandra: feminine form of Alexander, means "to ward off, keep off, turn away, defend, protect. Protector of mankind"
> 
> Destiny: Fate: because whether John or Ashley knew or not, she was always destined to be part of their life, despite everything they went through during the reaper war.
> 
> Hope: because the hope and the determination to defeat the Reapers for peace is what kept them fighting, even when things seemed to be against their odds.
> 
> Shepard: herdsman or guardian.
> 
> Summary: Some fluff that just popped into my head as I was at work today. It’s loosely based on a conversation I had with a co-worker a few years back on her experience at the hospital, and we were both just laughing so hard at the scenario.

Ashley sat on one of the medical beds cradling Alex in her arms. She and John, leaning against the dr's desk with crossed arms, were asked to come down by Dr. Chakwas who wanted to check on them, see how they were adjusting to be first time parents. It's been three days since Alex’s birth.

Dr. Chakwas closed the shutters to give them privacy from some of the crew members who were middling about in the mess.

"How are two adjusting? Is Alexandra eating alright?" She asked as she pulled up a chair close to Ashley and sat on it. She gestured Ashley to undress top up, she wanted to double, _triple_ check again, that Ashley was still feeding Alex properly.

Ashley sighed, she unzipped the fly of her jacket and shrug one arm out of her sleeve while still holding Alex in her other arm, then readjusted her hold so she could shrug her other arm out, "I'm feeding her every two to three hours, like you said to do, but I'm not sure she's actually getting any milk 2 times out of 3. I still feel... _full_ afterward."

Karin, watching Alex cooing and searching for a nipple to latch on to, takes one of Ashley’s nipples in her forefinger and thumbs pinching and wanking.

“Ow!” Ashley’s initial shock expression turns into one of pure horror. Wide brown finds Karin’s, who's currently grinning as Alex latches on the nipple and cupping her mother’s breast. “Did you just milk me like a cow?!” 

John hid his face behind a hand, pursed his lips into a fine line and bit the insides of his cheeks to prevent himself from laughing. But his shaking shoulders were a dead give away that he had been unsuccessful in his attempt, when Ashley turned on him next and scowled him, “It’s not funny John!”. The poor man has been taking the brunt of her frustration the last few days, but she had to give him credit for he remained so patient, compassionate towards her and trying to help as best as he can, under the circumstance. 

“Nope, not funny at all,” he snorted, moving his hand to his mouth and sheepishly looking at her, but he still couldn’t stop himself from laughing. Her wisecrack remarks were, sometimes but not all the time, something left to be desired. This one he had found quite hilarious.

“Sometimes the nipples just need more stimulation so there’s more to latch on. It’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Karin turned her chair around and rolled to her desk to grab a black bag and then rolled back to Ashley and placed the bag on the bed next to her. “I managed to find a breast pump for you, I know you said you didn’t want to do formula right away. This is another option you can do.”

“Thanks Doc. Maybe I just wasn’t stimulated enough,” Ashley pointed at the bag, “where did you find that? Was going to get one once when we got to the Citadel, but you just had this here?”

“Don’t worry about it. Just know it hasn’t even been opened yet.”

“Thanks again doc.”

“It’s what I am here for Ash. Now, i’m going to ask you to finish up here with the little munchkin here and get out of my med-bay. I got other patients to see” Karin said as she rolled back to her desk and buried herself in her terminal. 

Handing Alex over to Shepard so he can gently pat on Alex's back to help her belch , Ashley shrugged herself back into her top and zipped up the fly, “I hope she pukes on you while you try to maker her to burp,” she glared over to her husband and heard the Dr. laugh behind her as they walked out the med-bay.


	2. Spirit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Visiting the in-laws for Holidays, John can't help himself from remembering his mother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From this winter prompt list on Tumblr https://wickedwitchofthewilds.tumblr.com/post/636142824138653696/winter-prompt-list, thank you @wickedwitchofthewilds for the list!   
> Idea came flooding in my head while working but then I got stomped when I got home. So apologies if it gets crappy at the end. 
> 
> Prompt #4: Candles.

**_Earth, Vancouver BC, Canada, December 21st, 2195._ **

Sitting on the couch in Mrs. Williams' home, John leaned forward placing his elbows on his knees, fingertips around the rim of his glass, he swirled his glass of brandy between his legs. He was barely aware of his in-laws talking to each other around him. Deep in thought, he was blocking them out. The noise was more like an annoying bee buzzing around one’s ear. He watched his kids as they played a video game with their cousins. He smiled slightly as he listened to them giggle with joy, but it didn't fully take away tightness in his chest that had been building up since he woke up this morning. 

It was always hard this time of the year for him. It brought back old memories he wishes he could forget. He envied his children.  _ Can a father even envy his children? The life they have, so much better than what he had? _ But what he had witnessed would never leave him. How could it when it had been his own mother around this day so many years ago? He looked at his son Kaidan, just five years old, just a year younger than he had been when he had lost his mother. 

John felt Ashley's toes wiggle against his thigh as she readjusted herself on the couch, her arm now leaning against the armrest as she talked with her sister Abby and her husband. With his left hand, he wrapped his fingers around one of her feet and rubbed her arch with his thumb before giving her foot a light squeeze before he let go and stood up. 

With a few strides, John crossed the living room and opened the patio door to step up onto the porch and closed the door behind him. He needed a moment to himself, a moment to breathe. Stepping to the side, out of sight from the patio door where he was no longer visible to the others inside the house, he placed his glass of brandy on the glass coffee table and sat on the couch. He picked up the lighter and the candle that was on the table and lit it, and placed the candle back onto the plate. 

Propping his elbows on his knees, he stared out into the horizon, watching the puffy snowflakes fall gently, they looked like falling stars in the night sky. It made the night sky, already brightly lit with bright stars, look that much more beautiful. 

_ "Mom...if you're out there, and can hear me, it's that time of year again. I don't remember the last time I talked to you... It's been years I guess. I'm sorry... I hope you can forgive me. I'm sorry I didn't hold on to my promise. I didn't mean to stray by joining the reds. I hope I made up for it, though. I was mad at you, you know. For a long time, I was mad at you. Blamed you for abandoning me, blamed you for your death, blamed you for leaving me alone with my grandparents... For that, I'm sorry. I didn't understand... But when I look at my children, I get it now. I'd do anything for them...anything to keep them safe... even if it costs me my life again. You did what you could. It was never the life your grandchildren have, how I wish I could have had that...but you did what you could. It could have been worse. I see that now. So… thanks… and ...er...I miss you, mom." _

John picked up his glass and raised it to the sky before downing the rest of his brandy and slammed it on the table. Standing up, he walked up to the railing crossed his arms and leaned against it. 

He’d lost track of time when he heard the door open behind him and moments later felt something warm being placed on his shoulders. He looked to see that it was his jacket and slipped his arms in the sleeves before he felt Ashley loop her arm in his. “You’ve been out here for a half hour. Don’t want you catching a cold. Something on your mind?” she asked as she laid her head on his shoulder. 

John un-looped his arm so that he could wrap it around her shoulders instead and re-positioned himself to stand directly behind her. Laying his chin on the crown of her head, he said “Just thinking.”

“Anything in particular,” Ashley placed one hand on his forearm and played with his wedding band with the other. 

“My mother actually,” he wrapped his other arm around her, bringing her closer and letting her warmth warm him up. He hadn’t noticed he had been shivering slightly from the cold. His sweater had kept most of the cold at bay but the temperature had dropped slightly since he had first stepped out. 

“Did I interrupt anything?” She tilted her head slightly so she could look at him.

“No. Just finished talking to her.”

“Was it a good talk?” she pecked his cheek. Losing her father had been hard on her, and she had been much older and she also had had her mother and her sisters, they all had been there for each other. It had made the lost easier to bear if only slightly, and knowing he was looking out for her, made her feel better. But John...John had been alone to suffer in his grief, she couldn’t imagine losing her only parent at only six years of age and being orphaned. 

John stared out at the stars, and when he spotted a shooting star split the night sky. He took it as a sign that his mother was out and had been listening to him and that she forgave him. The tightness in his chest from earlier was no longer present. A smile formed at his lips before he answered, “Yeah, actually it was a good one.”

“I’m glad everyone could make it this year. It’s going to be a perfect Christmas after all,” Ashley changed the conversation as she wiggled herself deeper into his hold and tucked her head back underneath his chin.

They stood out there watching the stars in a companionable silence for a little while longer until John felt Ashley shiver in his arms as the cold wind bit their face. “We should get back inside,” he let go of her but not before planting a firm kiss on her lips. Smiling, she pulled away and headed back inside the house. John followed behind her only pausing momentarily to blow out the candle and grab his now empty glass. Stepping back inside the living room, he closed the door behind him. 

“Hey, John. You want a refill?” Daniel, Abby’s husband, asked as he stood up, his empty glass in hand.

“Yeah, sure” while John handed his empty glass to his brother-in-law, he felt something tug at his pants. Looking down, he found a pair of brown eyes looking up at him, stuffing his mouth with a gingerbread cooking with one hand and holding on to his pants with the other. Bending down, he scooped up Kaidan into his arms and shifted him so his weight was on John’s right hip and took his glass of brandy from Daniel’s offered hand. 

“Stole a cookie while no one was looking uh, Kai?” John chuckled, but noticed his son’s gaze shifted to the couch, an innocent look in his eyes, one that said it hadn’t been him, he just took the offered cookie. Following his son’s gaze, John spotted Alex sitting on the couch also eating a cookie, wiggling her feet, a big guilty smile on her face as she looked up at her father, blue eyes twinkling mischievously. His smile widened.

Yeah, it's going to be a perfect Christmas.

**Author's Note:**

> I do accept prompts, I can't promise that I'll get to all of them but my inbox is always open if you want more childhood one-shots for Alexandra Shepard.  
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/ghostxofxartemis


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